Modern high performance military aircraft subject crew members to a number of severe flight conditions. In addition, some types of missions have the potential to expose crew members to various kinds of threats from hostile forces. The flight conditions include conditions relating to the aircraft environment during normal operation of the aircraft, as well as conditions encountered in combat and emergency situations and during and following ejection. Normal operation may involve extremely high altitude and/or G forces, extreme temperatures, and high levels of noise and sun glare. Extraordinary conditions a crew member may face include fire in the aircraft, impact blows to the head region, wind blast during ejection, and cold water immersion following ejection or a crash. Possible hostile threats include chemical and biological (CB) weapons; directed energy weapons, such as lasers; and the effects of nuclear weapons. Such effects include prompt or immediate effects, e.g , nuclear flashes, and residual effects, e.g. nuclear dust.
Because of the large number and wide variety of severe conditions and threats that pilots and other crew members may be subjected to, there are numerous requirements relating to pilot ensembles used by crew members of current aircraft. In regard to future more sophisticated tactical aircraft, there will be even more requirements. The additional requirements will relate to factors such as the potential exposure of the crew members to new or more severe conditions and threats. In the future, provision of adequate protection for crew members is likely to be increasingly complicated by the increasing use of new technology, such as helmet mounted display (for displaying computer generated images to a pilot) and night vision goggle technology, and possibly additional technologies that have not yet entered an initial stage of development.
The current approach to pilot protection is piecemeal. In other words, in general a separate garment or component has been provided for each type of protection requirement. The numerous separate components have been developed with little, if any, regard for their integration into an overall system. The result is that current military inventory includes numerous separate components each of which may work well for its intended narrow protection purpose but is not designed to interface with other components in a way that optimizes the overall protection and comfort of the pilot. When a pilot is faced with a mission that may present multiple severe conditions and threats, he must wear multiple garments and may have to stack multiple components onto his helmet (if possible) in order to meet all the relevant protection requirements.
The negative impacts on the pilot of this piecemeal approach are numerous. The bulk and weight of the multiple components, in themselves, can be a serious burden on the pilot. In addition, the components can degrade the pilot's comfort, vision, mobility, and tactility (tactile sensitivity). Multiple garments can also place a severe thermal burden on the pilot, i.e. they can result in overheating of the pilot's body. With regard to protection against chemical and biological weapons, the current approach tends to overprotect the pilot, thereby increasing the burdens on the pilot. This situation is further aggravated by the fact that doffing of the chemical/biological protective equipment during flight to remove the encumbrance cannot be accomplished using known protective approaches. This is true even if the threat is no longer present, such as when the cockpit has been kept clean of liquid agents and vapor agents have been purged via the environmental control system.
A current pilot ensemble typically includes a flight suit and an anti-G suit worn over the flight suit. The flight suit is normally made from a flame resistant material, such as Nomex (trademark). It is currently anticipated that pilots of future high performance aircraft and future generations of current high performance aircraft will wear an upper pressure garment in addition to the flight suit and anti-G suit. In both current ensembles and currently anticipated future ensembles, the pilot wears a helmet with an oxygen mask and a visor. If laser protection is required for a mission, a laser visor is worn. If nuclear flash protection is required, nuclear flash goggles are worn separately.
The present approach to providing chemical/biological threat protection involves the addition of several components to the ensemble. These components include charcoal underwear that is worn under the flight suit. Hand protection is provided by a rubber glove and a cotton insert worn under the rubber glove, both of which are worn under the normal flight glove. Protection for the head and neck is provided by an impermeable butyl rubber hood to which a visor and oxygen mask are integrally attached. The impermeable hood assembly is worn under the pilot's helmet. This arrangement results in major problems relating to sweat buildup and thermal burdens on the pilot. It also has the significant disadvantage of not allowing the pilot to doff the C/B protection components in flight when there is no immediate threat of exposure. The lack of doff-ability of the hood is a major factor in the problems of sweat buildup and overheating. It also causes pilot discomfort in situations in which access to the face is needed, such as when the pilot has a runny nose or an eyelash in the eye or, worse, has to vomit.
In situations in which protection of the pilot against cold water immersion is required, the pilot typically wears an anti-exposure garment. In known ensemble approaches, the anti-exposure garment may be worn either under the flight suit or over the flight suit. Very few anti-exposure garments have ventilation capability. Therefore, anti-exposure garments typically impose a significant thermal burden on the pilot.
The integration of helmet mounted display and night vision goggle technology into pilot ensembles is in a developmental stage. To date, known proposals have not adequately addressed an acceptable method of integrating these technologies with chemical/biological, laser, and nuclear flash protection.